Days to Close a Loan Drops to New Low

Days to Close a Loan Drops to New Low

Daily Real Estate News |
Sunday, August 24, 2014

Both closing times and credit requirements are dropping, according to the latest report from Ellie Mae. The mortgage industry services provider states in its Origination Insight Report that the average number of days to close a loan has dropped to 37 in July, compared to 41 days in June. Ellie Mae notes that's the the lowest average they’ve seen since they began tracking. On average, it took 38 days to close a FHA loan, 36 days to close a conventional loan, and 38 days to close a VA loan in the month of July.

The report also notes that the average FICO score fell one point to 727 in July, reversing a four-month trend of increases. Researchers also noted another "sign of easing" is that 32 percent of closed loans had an average FICO score under 700 last month, compared to only 25 percent one year ago.

Meanwhile, the purchase market climbed in July, as the share of closed purchase loans hit 67 percent, up 2 percent from June – and the highest percentage since Ellie Mae began tracking the data in 2011. Refinanced loans took up the remaining 32 percent of closed loans.

The report focuses on loans that closed or were denied over the course of a month, comparing the data to other time frames, according to Ellie Mae.

Now that the summer home-buying season is winding down, Ellie Mae notes that “it will be interesting to see if rate and days to close averages continue to fall.”